Tim Brown, his wife and their pet
Dachshunds have lived along Bayou Corne since 1999 - a lifestyle he's not
comfortable giving up.

"We're not going anyplace, so
we'll just ride it out and see what happens," said Brown.

Brown questions what his property
and those of others in the area are even worth and adds because of the sinkhole
selling and refinancing is not even an option. Texas Brine Spokesman Sonny
Cranch says the company has done its part making offers to residents interested
in a buyout.

"Residents accepted offers we
provided, others as part of the process responded with a counter offer and in
many cases, we accepted their counter offer," said Cranch.

As of Monday's court deadline, 44
residents in the Bayou Corne area had accepted a buyout offer from Texas Brine
according to Cranch, but community leaders say the company's response to this
situation from day one has come up well short of expectations.

"I've never seen a company take
this long to come to the people's aid," said State Representative Karen St.
Germain. "To take 10 and a half months to make a decision and to do it within a
month's time of discussions, settlements and counter offers, this is not even
acceptable."

Cranch disagrees and while he
acknowledges things like getting clearance for vent wells and insurance
approval have slowed recovery down, he says the company has done everything
it's been asked to do.

"We moved as quickly as we could
you know we had a bump in the road with our insurance carriers but we managed
to resolve those and complete the process," said Cranch.

A process that Brown has been
updating on his front lawn over each major holiday and one that he intends to
wait out.

"Just don't want to leave this is
where we plan on retiring and we are going to hang on to it as long as we can,"
said Brown.

The Assumption Parish Police Jury reported the area west of Grand Bayou along LA 70 is no longer under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders because of the sinkhole, with the exception of a residential area near Bayou Corne.

The Assumption Parish Police Jury reported the area west of Grand Bayou along LA 70 is no longer under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders because of the sinkhole, with the exception of a residential area near Bayou Corne.

In Assumption Parish, LA the ground opened up on August 3, 2012 and residents were evacuated from their homes. The sinkhole, or slurry, consumed land and trees.More >>

In Assumption Parish, LA the ground opened up on August 3, 2012 and residents were evacuated from their homes. The sinkhole, or slurry, consumed land and trees. Many images are from the Assumption Parish Police Jury. Click here to see the photos from 2012 until now. More >>